10 of My Biggest Turn-Offs When Reading Books

Since 10 Things I Want to Read More of in YA Books recieved such positive feedback, I decided to write up what things turn me off a book as well. Some of these things put me off books entirely and others might mean it takes me a little longer to finish the book.

1. Bad covers.

No matter how much we like to deny it, it’s only natural for us to judge a book by its cover. Since it’s the first thing we see, it needs to be attractive and eye-catching. To me, a bad cover is anything that has too much happening in the space, involves clashing colours and uses unprofessional or tacky looking fonts. Modelled covers can sometimes age poorly too — their hair, makeup and so on will one day not be as on trend and may end up being a point of ridicule. I’ve included some examples of ‘bad’ covers below. Whilst some of the example books have alternative covers or got redesigns, others were not so lucky . . .

2. Excessively long chapters.

This is something I’ve talked about in depth on Twitter and you’ll be aware of this already if you follow me, but long chapters are the bane of my existence. The great thing about short chapters is you have readers saying, “Oh, it’s only 15 pages, one more chapter can’t hurt” and suddenly they’ve finished the book. On the other hand, if it’s 100 pages in a chapter, I’ll probably stop reading earlier. It’s key to note my use of “excessively” though because long chapters are occasionally needed. However, too many long chapters where nothing exciting happens can slow the narrative pace and bore readers.

3. Lots of cultural references.

Come on, do we really need a Harry Potter reference in every YA book? Seriously, I bet I could find one in 80% of the contemporary books on my shelf. Whilst I can appreciate one or two being slid in, name dropping too many popular things can feel forced and cringeworthy. It can also show an author’s age when writing teen characters that use “LOL,” “One Direction” and “Stranger Things” in every sentence. Not only does this make the author seem out of touch, it takes away from the story they’re trying to tell and the references might not be relevant in a few years. Books that feel timeless are the best kind, in my opinion.

4. Too much description.

It can be hard to find a balance with description. To an extent, I like description, I like having a vivid picture of the characters and the world in my head, but it is easily overdone. Chunky paragraphs going into detail about every nook and cranny of a castle or academy is unnecessary. I don’t want to read pages and pages of this and if this happens, I’ll usually skim. The same goes with characters — nobody cares that Kylie, the five foot two brunette with beach curls, who was wearing an aquamarine tank top, denim mini skirt and battered white converse, was texting her blonde-haired, blue-eyed, quarterback boyfriend on her rose gold iPhone 8 when she found out her parents died. God, even typing that was exhausting!

5. The convenient absence of parents, guardians of adult figures.

Speaking of dead parents, convenient parental absences irritate me because they’re usually a sign of lazy writing. If the absence doesn’t play into the plot, I find dead parents, or ones that are always working out of town without checking in on their kids, to be an excuse for the younger characters to get away with anything they want. Even if the parents are absent, what about uncles, grandmas, godparents etc? In terms of an adult/child relationship, there’s so much to explore and it’s too often brushed under the rug because there’s no other way to explain how a sixteen year old could overthrow the government or a fourteen year old can get blackout drunk without consequences.

6. Obscure character names.

Obscure character names are a definite no from me. I don’t have any reasoning this time, I simply don’t like them. All they do is serve as a giant, neon sign above the main character’s head that says, “I’m quirky and special!” I really don’t want to read about any Tens, Blues, Patches, Dynalyas, Chaols etc in a world of Sarahs, Sams and Bobs. Sometimes it fits in with the creation of a new world, but it seems a little pretentious all the same.

Is this an America Singer call out? Maybe.

7. Insta-love.

This is pretty self-explanatory, but I want the lust! the pining! the angst! when reading romances, so instant love is always disappointing. I’m not opposed to love at first sight, but I want to see relationships that aren’t ready-made because relationships take work and it’s not as easy as kissing the boy after knowing him one day.

8. Purple prose.

Less really can be more. I’ve noticed that some authors like to flaunt their ability to regurgitate a thesaurus and write using flowery language that draws attention away from the narrative. One example of this is in YA is Shatter Me. Whilst I enjoyed the first three books, it took three attempts for me to get past the first few chapters because it tries too hard to be philosophical and thought-provoking. It’s also common in a lot of the classics.

9. Crude language.

This is something more predominant in NA than YA and it tends to be found more in male POVs, but I hate how some writers find it necessary to have the character cuss every other line or talk about sex and women in such a crass manner. It makes me uncomfortable — ‘locker room talk’ or generally jerk behaviour isn’t attractive. Realistic? Perhaps, but in moderation! You can portray young men to be more than vulgar and primitive beings.

10. Multiple POVs.

Controversial, but I prefer to follow one character throughout the course of the book — whether that means through restricted third person point of view or first. I can tolerate two POVs, I’d prefer one though. This is probably why I’ve avoided Six of Crows for so long. I think my aversion is because there’s always one POV you prefer, or one you dread.

That wraps up all my bookish turn-offs. I’m curious now, what your turn-offs are? Do you agree with mine? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

read it and weep,